Back on 24 July, Accesso Technology (ACSO) announced the start of a formal sales process, which is still ongoing. Indeed, the group – a provider of ticketing and queuing software for theme parks and other attractions – said during the first half it had met with various interested parties, and expects to hear feedback by the end of this month.
In any case, numbers for the six months under review were mixed. While its performance was “broadly in-line”, sales landed below management’s expectations – knocked by slower-than-expected scaling within distribution, and the fact that the prior year had benefited from non-recurring revenue items.
That said, the group’s work to unify its products into one integrated offering cost less than it had imagined – resulting in a lower-than-expected rise in overall spending. This trend looks set to persist; for the full year, Accesso has reduced its development expenditure guidance from between $36m and $39m to $33m.
Still, first-half adjusted cash profits fell by more than a quarter to $11m, and the group swung into the red on a statutory basis. Meanwhile, in keeping with normal seasonality, cash generation was less strong – with an operating cash outflow of $4.5m.
Peel Hunt expects adjusted EPS of 43.4¢ for 2019, down from 70.6¢ in 2018.
| ACCESSO TECHNOLOGY (ACSO) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 835p | MARKET VALUE: | £230m | |
| TOUCH: | 820-850p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 2,975p | LOW: 640p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 654¢* | NET DEBT: | 8%** | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
| 2018 | 54.4 | 1.4 | 3.85 | nil |
| 2019 | 50.7 | -5.0 | -13.4 | nil |
| % change | -7 | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
*Includes intangible assets of $196m, or 710¢ a share **Excludes lease liabilities of $6.8m £1=$1.25 | ||||
